Jan 26, 2018
BOOKIES LUCK, RAVEN CREEK & HECK YEAH ALL PROMINENT IN SATURDAY’S $100,000 CALIFORNIA CUP TURF SPRINT STAKES AT 6 ½ FURLONGS DOWN HILLSIDE TURF; COMPETITIVE FIELD OF 13 SOPHOMORES SET TO COMPETE
RACE IS ONE OF FOUR GOLDEN STATE SERIES RACES FOR HORSES BRED OR SIRED IN CALIFORNIA
A two-time California-bred or sired stakes winner, trainer Jeff Bonde’s Bookies Luck will try turf for the first time as he heads a field of 13 sophomores in Saturday’s $100,000 California Cup Turf Sprint at 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.
His primary opposition could come from a pair of recent maiden winners, Jeff Mullins’ Raven Creek and Bob Baffert’s Heck Yeah.
BOOKIES LUCK
Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams Jeff Bonde
By far the most accomplished horse in the field, this Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams’ homebred colt by Lucky Pulpit has three wins from seven dirt starts and earnings of $216,649. A winner of the seven furlong Golden State Juvenile two starts back at Del Mar on Nov. 4, he’s been idle since well beaten as the 6-5 favorite in the one mile King Glorious Stakes versus Cal-breds at Los Alamitos Dec. 16. With regular rider Kent Desormeaux set to do the signal calling, Bookies Luck is strictly the horse to beat in his initial voyage down the hill.
RAVEN CREEK
Owner: William Simms and Joey Platts Trainer: Jeff Mullins
Favored in four of his six starts, this 3-year-old colt by Old Fashioned comes off a rousing 1 ¼ length maiden win down the hillside turf Jan. 1 and was second, beaten 1 ½ lengths down the hill three starts back on Oct. 26. A gate to wire maiden winner, Raven Creek can be expected to show plenty of early zip under Tyler Baze but it wouldn’t appear that he has to have the lead throughout for his best. Bred in California by his co-owner William Sims, Raven Creek is out of the More Than Ready mare Trashi Diva.
HECK YEAH
Owner: Michael Pageler...
